Just wondering if anybody has any info on what a good surfboard for lake riding would be? I am landlocked so would only get very minimal choppy wind swell - the wind I am riding in is between 14knts up to 35knts. On a good windy day I would be lucky to find a 2ft roller in the middle of the lake I could slash. I was looking at possibly getting the Airush Cypher but the local supplier is out of them, so could access anything on the net if needed. Any suggestions?

Strapless and ideally a board with 5 fin boxes for versatility. The conditions here (canadian prairies) change quite quickly so one day I could be riding flat water and the next day will be 1ft wind chop. This board wont ever see a proper wave but still need to scratch that itch... Would prefer quad over tri if I had to choose. Bump and jump and smack a bit - couldnt have put it better myself..

I learned to ride strapless on a lake on my RRD Domingo. I had never ridden a short surfboard before that and had very little longboard surfing experiences. On days with no wind I practiced riding it getting pulled around by a Seadoo. That actually helped when the wind picked up. Now I mainly ride it on light to moderate wind days to practice my jibes. I got a few days this winter down in FL where I actually got to ride in some surf and learned that I really needed straps for bigger waves (bigger being a relative term based on my limited experience). I got my butt kicked in the surf, but I did get some good rides in which would not have been possible had I not been practicing back home in the lake.

I will say that riding on a choppy lake on a surfboard gets kind of difficult for me above about 18kts because it is hard to keep from picking up too much speed and getting bounced off the board. I do pull upwind to keep it slow, but end up doing mach 3 on any downwind transition. Might just be my low level of experience, but it is something to consider.

Thanks KY for the suggestion- I reviewed the specs on the RRD and it seems to be more geared toward light wind/flat riding. I am looking for a responsive board that can handle chop and hold a rail - then do a quick slash on a bowly section (very small prairie slab lol). Also something that had some pop for a bit of strapless puntin fun. i can hold my own on a shortboard so no worries about that. I have ridden a cab skillet on maui north shore which was amazing in those waves but sadly those days are few and far between for me... My local distribution carries the OR surf series or airush compact but everyone still rides twin tips out here. I dont mind ordering off the net if it means getting the satisfaction i crave. Mahalo

JaredS wrote:Thanks KY for the suggestion- I reviewed the specs on the RRD and it seems to be more geared toward light wind/flat riding. I am looking for a responsive board that can handle chop and hold a rail - then do a quick slash on a bowly section (very small prairie slab lol). Also something that had some pop for a bit of strapless puntin fun. i can hold my own on a shortboard so no worries about that. I have ridden a cab skillet on maui north shore which was amazing in those waves but sadly those days are few and far between for me... My local distribution carries the OR surf series or airush compact but everyone still rides twin tips out here. I dont mind ordering off the net if it means getting the satisfaction i crave. Mahalo

I know what you are saying. It sucks to get a taste of something you would want to do every day, but work and geography keeps you from it.

I am definitely no expert on surfboards. Just thought I would pipe up since I have been using one on a lake. I have experienced some very pleasant conditions around Pensacola with 3 to 4ft waves, but it was better because of the large interval of smooth water between waves. Lake chop is much closer together and seems to be more difficult to deal with. I hope you find the stick you are looking for and have a great time shreading it on your lakes.

JaredS wrote:Strapless and ideally a board with 5 fin boxes for versatility. The conditions here (canadian prairies) change quite quickly so one day I could be riding flat water and the next day will be 1ft wind chop. This board wont ever see a proper wave but still need to scratch that itch... Would prefer quad over tri if I had to choose. Bump and jump and smack a bit - couldnt have put it better myself..

Naish Global. It does not have quite the low end of the skater, but you can ride the board so loaded..and for the bump and jump stuff...when you ride it quad you knees will give in before the board does...ie. you can smack really really hard. It has 5 fins boxes and comes with straps, but will do fine without. It also comes with a boardbag and with really high quality fins (the ones that don't break when you go off the top of the wave)...and it is built tank like...

You didn't say your weight, but for me at now a whopping 200lb I got the 5'8'', but depending on how powered you ride maybe the 6'0'' would give more low end...but oh well. I mean the low end is not bad though, but the slimmer board that works great in pretty much any water condition, will have a little less...

I use a strapless sligshot Arcane,
a wakesurfin board.
i don't know nada about
proper surfin
or kite much in da surf
but its good fun
and maybe someday i'll actually
wake surf it behind my boat, 28 footer.

Would just point out, that you can really have a lot of fun on a waveboard in itsy titsy tiny small waves too.

The reason for me saying this is, that I do both - but can definitely recommend straps when it gets small and choppy especially.

Because - if you dont have any religous thoughs regarding straps or not, then you can ride and spray the small waves better (but can be done on both, true).
But especially when the wind and waves are in the same direction, it is better to "smack" with straps - whereas more sideshore it is the same.
And you can make aerial transitions a lot higher and cleaner, kiteloops, super high jumps etc etc.
Besides that, your upwind abitily will be better, and you can (if you prefer sometimes) also ride much faster in chop because you have the board fixed much better, instead of just "plowing" through - it actually rides across the chop faster and efficient

Jibes and Tacks are of course a bit more difficult with straps - but take this as a good challenge and you will be a better kitesurfer

Here, out yesterday locally with no waves almost, and slashing a 1 foot ancle snapper, just for fun and beatiful sun :

This can never be wave "riding", but can be really fun.

Of course, if you have never surfed at all - I would advice to start strapless to learn to use the edges and how it works, and then you can proceed with straps later if you want.